After a freezing Christmas Eve and a particularly quiet start to the week, forecasters return with disheartening news. Once again, an ice warning has been issued for parts of Eastern Norway, including the region above.
The reason is that the snow will change to rain in the lower areas on Thursday. This carries the risk of ground freezing rain and supercooled rain.
– The precipitation will freeze into ice on the ground, as well as on vehicles and other objects, the warning says.
According to the warning, the danger is greatest in the south at the beginning of the period and in the late evening in the north.
– It’s good to be prepared, that’s why we sent a warning about it, says on-duty meteorologist Martin Granerød at Hamar Arbeiderblad.
Very demanding driving conditions
Driving conditions in Innlandet were very challenging at times on Monday. The mild temperatures meant that the precipitation came as rain in places, making the roads slippery. While here in the region people seemed to stay on the road, there were more problems on the smooth road on the other side of Mjøsa.
So Vegtrafikksentralen could signal difficult driving conditions, at that time due to heavy rain.
– It is the very changeable weather that is the main challenge now. In many places it is starting to rain where there has been snow, and the roads are very slippery, traffic operator Mari Aarrestad at the road traffic center told OA on Tuesday.
Closed mountain passes
On Tuesday several mountain passes were closed for shorter or longer periods due to bad weather. Fylkesvei 51, Valdresflye was closed early on Tuesday morning and has not yet reopened on Tuesday afternoon. Also, some parts of the road are closed in winter.
National Highway 7 on Hardangervidda has been closed, but is open to convoy driving.
The E134 above Haukelifjell has been opened to free traffic after the congestion, while there is still congestion on County Road 50 between Hol and Aurland.
E6 above Saltfjellet was closed for periods on Tuesday but is now open. However, the road may be closed at short notice. At the same time, the Swedish Road Administration is asking motorists to be aware of the presence of reindeer on and along the road, especially at the Arctic Circle Centre.
Further north, the E69 between Skarsvåg and Nordkapp and county road 98 above Ifjordfjellet are closed due to thunderstorms.
E16 on Filefjell, Highway 52 Hemsedalsfjellet and Highway 15 Strynefjellet is open. The same is the county road 450 Hunnedalen.
